Three words perfectly summed up what LeBron James has been trying to tell us for most of his life.
His pass to Rui Hachimura in the final seconds of Thursday's game led to the winning basket. With that pass, James sacrificed the opportunity to score at least 10 points in an NBA record 1,298 consecutive games. When the game is on the line, the sports industry wants stars like him to take the final shot because that's how the industry traditionally defines greatness.
People say, “Jordan would have shot him. Kobe would have shot him.” And ever since Sports Illustrated put James on the cover in 2002, next to the words “the chosen one,” it has been trying to tell us that it defines greatness differently.
He reiterated it after the game against Toronto, when he was asked what his feelings were about the end of his scoring streak.
“None. We won.”
The sports industry, the machine, will discuss whether to feel the same.
But we can't pretend he hasn't been telling us the same thing for more than 20 years: All he cares about is making the right play for the team. He's been saying that since the cover of SI. And that's been especially true since he created his own media company, Uninterrupted, back in 2014.
He and Yankees great Derek Jeter, who started the Players Tribune that same year, are pioneers when it comes to modern athletes telling their own stories. And in the decade since, it's been captivating to watch athletes go beyond the control of traditional media and the limitations of social media to create podcasts and produce documentaries (or at least try) – all to tell their own stories.
That's not to say that every time a group of former or active players steps in front of a microphone, brilliance is heard. In fact, much of what we hear is simply retelling stories we've heard thousands of times, just with less structure. There are often ego-driven attempts to rewrite history under the guise of “setting the record straight.” As if we didn't have Google and couldn't see the record for ourselves. But it is in his own words that adds something to the discussion. And because there are more, I'm discovering that some of the best things out there come not from gaming gods like James, but from near-mortals.
Catch “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. The sports media machine is powered by stars, but the league is primarily made up of voices like those on that show. The players who didn't take teams to the heights and whose faces never appeared on the cover of a magazine. And until recently, most of the insight of most players was simply lost because we don't hear their voices. But now, particularly this season, with networks investing heavily in athlete-driven NBA content, more sources are providing more texture. People like “Run It Back” co-host Chandler Parsons.
“I like the inside information and the other guys' takes,” Parsons said of listening to non-superstars. “I like listening to Draymond Green and hearing what he has to say through his eyes and not through a third party… As an athlete who has been in my shoes and played at the highest level, I respect his views and opinions.”
In the early days of Monday Night Football, Howard Cosell, the original sports media provocateur, often complained about former NFL players leaving the field and entering the booth. I would say sports media was the only profession where someone with no experience could receive a big check for doing the job at the highest level. That was in the 1970s, when television networks were few and media-savvy athletes like the great Muhammad Ali were even fewer.
Parsons graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Florida, so he may avoid the scorn of Cosell's ghost. Still, without the explosion of streaming networks and podcasts, there's a good chance we wouldn't have heard much about him and others like him, simply because they weren't household names. It was his appearance on another athlete-led podcast, “All the Smoke,” that elevated him as a viable NBA analyst.
“I had no idea I wanted to do this,” Parsons said.
The same goes for Matt Barnes, who along with Stephen Jackson started their “All the Smoke” podcast after careers in the NBA and stints in traditional media. To understand how popular it is today: Since joining YouTube in 2019, the show has racked up more than 500 million views, landed interviews with Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Michelle Obama and Governor Gavin Newsom, and become a full-fledged producer.
Barnes, CEO of All the Smoke Productions, told me that with the rise of NBA content in the so-called manosphere, there may be pressure to accept clicks. (I told him that sounded familiar).
“There are some athletes in this space who say some of the craziest s–t,” Barnes said. “I feel like if I put in the effort and have deep, meaningful conversations, I'll go viral for something that's an interesting story.”
Case in point: “Smoke” was one of the first media outlets to feature NBA legend Dwyane Wade to talk about his transgender daughter. It was a powerful episode that a decade ago the former athletes would never have started. This is not just a reflection of changing times. It represents how players see themselves now and speak for themselves in these changing times.
Players and former players are the new voice of the NBA. They have always been there. They just needed to be heard.
YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
